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Clinical and translational progress in oncolytic virotherapy for pediatric CNS tumors
Pediatric central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in children. Development of more effective therapies for pediatric CNS tumors has been slow, underscoring an urgent need for novel and innovative approaches.
This review summarizes current pediatric clinical trials of oncolytic viruses for pediatric brain tumors including high-grade glioma (HGG), diffuse midline glioma (DMG), medulloblastoma (MDB), atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (ATRT), and other high-grade tumors, while highlighting limitations of early-phase data, exploratory biomarkers, imaging challenges, pseudoprogression, and future directions.
Key platforms include HSV-based agents (HSV1716, G207, and M032); adenoviral vectors (DNX2401, Ad-TD-nsIL12, and ICOVIR-5); MV-NIS (measles virus); PVS-RIPO (poliovirus); and Reolysin (reovirus). We review trial status, innovations in viral engineering and delivery, combinatorial strategies and translational challenges to establish oncolytic virotherapy as part of the future standard care for pediatric brain tumors.
Flexible brain circuits can switch between different tasks
“We found that the brain doesn’t dedicate a separate group of neurons for every type of information. Instead, it uses the same populations of neurons to perform the same computation on different kinds of information, which means the same subset of neurons can hold both an action and a sensory stimulus in working memory,” says Yuma Osako, an MIT postdoc and the lead author of the new study.
As we move through everyday life, our brains engage in a huge variety of cognitive tasks. For example, during a grocery run, we might have to recall the items for a recipe, remember where the clerk said the flour was located, and count out money to pay.
Scientists have long theorized that the brain contains modules, or clusters of neurons, that perform the same computation across many different types of tasks. This type of modularity could help explain why our brains are able to take on so many functions, with little difficulty.
In a new study of mice, MIT neuroscientists have found the first evidence for the existence of these flexible modules. They identified neurons in the prefrontal cortex that can be used to store either a sensory input or an action plan in working memory.
Dolphins off Western Australia carry sea sponges on their beaks while foraging along the ocean floor tooluse behaviour passed mainly from mothers to daughters, making it one of the few animal cultures shaped so strongly by gender
Somewhere in the deep channels of Shark Bay, a dolphin is cruising along the seabed with a sponge jammed over her nose like a novelty clown accessory.
By Daniel Moran
Published August 17, 2026 · How we edit.
Humanoid Robot Production Numbers: The 50,000-Unit Claim Nobody Can Verify
Widely repeated humanoid robot production numbers, Tesla past 50,000 Optimus units, Figure AI past 10,000 deployments, don’t come from the companies themselves. Tesla’s own 2025 target was 5,000 units for internal use; actual output was a few hundred. The gap between claimed and audited numbers is now the story investors and buyers should be pricing in.
Humanoid robot production numbers have become the least reliable statistic in industrial AI. Search for how many humanoid robots are actually working today and you’ll find confident figures everywhere: Tesla past 50,000 cumulative Optimus units, Figure AI past 10,000 deployments across partner warehouses. None of those figures come from the companies they describe, according to a July 2026 investigation by Technology.org. Tesla has never published an audited Optimus production count.
The clearest example sits in Tesla’s own record. The company targeted 5,000 Optimus units for internal factory use in 2025. Actual output, per mid-2025 reporting from The Information cited by Technology.org, was a few hundred units, under ten percent of the goal. Contributing factors included China’s April 2025 export restrictions on rare earth magnets and a longer-than-planned Gen 3 design finalization, particularly on the dexterous hand system.
Soy lysolecithin counters high-salt diet-induced hypertension and cognitive impairment
High-salt (HS) intake is a major global health concern, closely linked to hypertension and growing evidence of cognitive and emotional decline. Although salt is a routine part of daily diets, long-term overconsumption can negatively affect both the cardiovascular system and the central nervous system, underscoring the need for practical dietary strategies to mitigate these adverse health effects.
Prostaglandins (PGs) are lipid compounds derived from arachidonic acid (AA) that act as potent local hormones. They maintain cardiovascular homeostasis through a delicate balance of vasodilation and vasoconstriction. In the brain, depending on the receptor involved, PGs can promote either neuroprotective or neurotoxic signaling, thereby influencing emotional and cognitive function.
LPC70, a soy lysolecithin in which lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) comprises more than 70% of phospholipids, has previously been shown to attenuate high-salt diet (HSD)-induced hypertension and cognitive impairment. However, the biological mechanisms, specifically the role of LPC70 in regulating PG signaling, remain unclear.